Thursday, October 30, 2008

Um...

But... er... I thought that we already knew what drives climate change? It's CO2 emissions from human activity, isn't it? I mean, we have a consensus, right? The science is settled...?

Now, just wait a cotton-pickin' minute: are you telling me that the scientists don't actually know the whole story and that climate may be a fuck sight more complicated than they're painting it?

Well, who'd'a thunk it?

On a more serious note, these people are investigating a particular aspect of past climate, rather than the future one.

According to the University of Texas, Antarctic ice cores have revealed aspects of the Earth's climate dating back 800,000 years.

About 1 million years ago, research shows, the Earth's climate changed in a way that caused ice ages to come and go more rapidly than before. Scientists have long wondered what caused the shift.

Well, I would guess that the Earth got warmer, but what do I know? But, whatever it was, I think that we can agree another ice age would be A Bad Thing for human civilisation in general.

And this brings us on to another aspect of this global warming thing (assuming that it's actually happening): given that the Medieval Warm Period—when the northern hemisphere (we have little data from the south) was about 1°C warmer than it is now—was a time of then unprecedented wealth expansion, why would a similar rise in the present day be so disastrous?

16 comments:

I was talking to one of my clients yesterday who, coincidentally, is a UKIPer. I remarked that it has snowed lightly where I live in Newhaven that morning and he told me that it hadn't snowed in October since 1938.

I notice in the linked article that the plane chosen to fly for hours on end over very hostile terrain.... is a re-engined DC-3.The DC-3 is being grounded by the EU as being too dangerous for passenger flights.

As we talking science I've got to be pedantic - we're currently in an ice age which has lasted around 2-3m years; this is an interglacial.

What that means is that these ice-core records don't even date outside the current ice age. We're all just comparing our interglacial to previous interglacial periods.

Oh and just to put things in perspective the Eemian Stage 130k years ago was on average warmer then current temperatures but could swing by as much as 14 degrees in only a few decades; sadly we had no scientists at the time trying to blame these swings on the amount of man-made cooking fires.

1. People believe what they want to believe, otherwise- explain the fascination with horoscopes, the Roman Catholic Church etc.Facts don't come into it. They believe and that's enough for them.

The AGW lobby have the ear of government and as such have a vested interest in keeping the propaganda coming. Facts don't come into it and that's enough for them.

I'm of the opinion that the Industrial Reveolution prevented or kept the Ice Age at bay and now that the furnaces are all shut down it will will return. I also observe that the "record temperatures" are measured at Heathrow Airport where all the jet engines heat up the air.I believe this and therefore it's a fact.

And the theory I believe and therefore regard as a fact is that there is a deep vein of puritanism in many people which leads them to want the flesh to be mortified every now and then, either by covering people up or stopping them dancing or eating or drinking, or wanting to impoverish and miserify them by forbidding them to keep warm, have baths, travel, defend themselves or speak their minds, even in private. Not that they would recognise the concept of privacy.

Settled science: on this basis I had presumed all climate change investigations had ceased and all university departments, laboratories and research establishments looking into this matter had closed down. There is also no need for expensive reports either as they are henceforth pointless; we know everything we need to know. The Beeb tells us so and the Government have plans for all taxes required.

Yet... could it be this Climate Change malarkey is still paying someone's wages?

But I do know that there is a good reason why previous warm periods (if they existed, which we are encouraged to believe never did happen and the climate was stable for millions of years before we invented CO2 emissions) don't count.

Back then there weren't bandwagons and trends and lefties and greenies and agencies with agendas, so there couldn't have been a crisis, could there?

'The Medieval warm period may well have been a time of unprecedented wealth expansion, but without thousands of coal power stations.'

...and also used lots of water and wind power! You're right - conclusive proof that high levels of economic growth are related to 'alternative' energy sources. With such an obvious truth staring us in the face, it makes you wonder why burning fossil fuels ever became the dominant source of energy production. Those greedy capitalists or early proto-socialists no doubt. One thing is for sure, it wasn't us Green Tories - our hands are clean!

I recall decades ago reading that the "Ice Ages" were actually warmer worldwide than now; the northern area was colder, due to local effects like winds or ocean currents.In short - nobody knows enough to make a sensible policy decision."Precautionary principle" in this case should be - don't fix it until you know what's broke - if anything.

Boston (MA) - Scientists at MIT have recorded a nearly simultaneous world-wide increase in methane levels. This is the first increase in ten years, and what baffles science is that this data contradicts theories stating man is the primary source of increase for this greenhouse gas.